The concepts and designs of motorcycles have seen many developments since it's original inception. As electronics and mechanical developments have improved, the motorcycle continues to improve in performance. Another result of these developments is a market for smaller radio controlled versions for children and adults to utilize in a scaled down version for entertainment. When motorcycles are designed for human transportation, great care must be taken to ensure the external forces acting on the rider and vehicle are balanced. The active inputs and movements executed by a rider on a motorcycle to achieve a balanced ride carry over to the design of toy and radio controlled versions of two wheeled vehicles. These balance principles are still necessary to achieve a quality performance experience from a user, but are addressed with various mechanisms to counter external forces acting on the toy and radio controlled versions. Additionally, a segment of motor sports has gained popularity in which vehicles “drift” or “slide” through turns. This segment involves over-steering principles where a driver or rider enter turns at high speeds and then drifts through the corner while preserving a high exit speed. Principles involving the vehicle traction in combination with steering mechanics and weight elements dictate the success of drifting while moving.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,342,175 discloses a two-wheeled motorcycle with a frame carrying a drive motor, a servo controlled by a radio and a power source for driving the motor. The motorcycle is rear wheel driven and the front fork of the motorcycle is rotatably attached to a front wheel and a steering mechanism is attached to the top portion of the front fork which is pivotally attached to the frame of the motorcycle, such that when the center of gravity is shifted, the steering mechanism will tend to turn the front wheel in the same direction.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,290,228 discloses a two-wheeled toy motorcycle with side supports attached to two outriggers to bank the toy for negotiating turns. The front wheel is pivotally attached to a front fork with a steering mechanism to direct the toy's turning direction. The outriggers are cam operated from the steering mechanism and the side supports engage the surface on which the toy rests to prevent the toy from falling over sideways. However, the design is such that during operation of the toy one of the side supports will most likely be in contact with the surface, which diminishes the performance and realistic appeal of the toy. Further, the addition of a steering mechanism on the front fork creates added mechanical complexity that increases the cost of the toy while increasing the possibility of mechanical failure.
As one can appreciate from the examples above, prior two-wheeled toy vehicles have mechanically complicated steering configurations and have been lacking in delivering a realistic radio controlled driving experience to an adult or child. Further, the examples require a certain level of traction for the wheels and a surface in order to perform as desired.
One or more of the embodiments provided herein improve on past two-wheeled vehicle designs and solves the problems of stability and performance with a durable and efficient radio controlled two-wheeled vehicle with a simplistic design that takes advantage of external forces acting on a vehicle along with the physical characteristics of the two-wheeled vehicle. This quality of this vehicles performance relies on fewer variables and parts while powering both wheels and as such provides utilization on several different types of surfaces. Further, this invention provides a user with the capability to simulate a performance style known in motor sports as drifting.